From the Precipice

This morning I am enjoying a sweet breakfast and thinking about age.  Yes, it is that time of year again.  My birthday is just around the corner.  My last 6 birthdays have been dreaded events as I watch 25 slip further and further away.  That magical age of 25 seemed to be the quintessential age of youth.  And though I tried my best to hang on for dear life to that age (even celebrating my 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th annual 25^th birthday), this year it is most definitely gone.

But this is NOT a lamenting post.  This is what many a packed Southern pulpit would call a praise report.  As I stand on the edge of 32 years old I am overwhelmed by the blessings that marinate my life.  And so today I hope you will bear with me as I count, and recount, just a few of them.

First and foremost, Jesus is alive!  Though you may not have seen that one coming, I cannot begin a post about the blessings without speaking first to the source of all good things in my life.  I found my savior as a teen when life seemed difficult but was really quite small.  As a young adult I fought to find my place in the world while He fought to steal my heart over and over again.  And won.  Today I am the most grateful for a God who covers my life with forgiveness (which I CONSTANTLY need) and reveals to me in bite-sized pieces His plan and will for my life.  Can I get a witness?

Now on to the obvious, the source of 99% of my inspiration for this blog and articles; my precious family.  There are so many ways to define family today so here is what it mean to me: an all-encompassing category of those people whose lives are so intricately blended together with mine that we cannot be separated.  They know all of my faults, short comings, triumphs, failures, insecurities and fears.  And they chose to love me anyway, even when I am difficult to love.

This bunch starts with my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents.  And what a bunch I have.  My family is huge with cousins by the oodles.  Each with quirks and gifts and beauty all their own.  Holidays are never boring (or quiet) with this bunch.

Then there is my very own family; a husband who should be sainted and two bouncy red headed girls.  They are the soft place to land at the end of a vicious day.  My husband is the calm and steady in my life.  He is the true love of my life.  I hate to sound like one of those sappy Hallmark cards but here goes.  I am so much more in love with him today than I even knew was possible on our wedding day.  And from our love comes our daughters who are happy, healthy, 100% go-go from the minute they open their eyes blessings.  We are just a few short years from those to-be-feared teenage years and I will be honest, I am scared.  But for now I simply soak up their light and love, thankful for each second of it.

And finally my “family” includes those friends so tried and true that they must be included.  True friends are a gift beyond measure.  And mine are the spice in my life that keeps me from being plain and boring.  My true girlfriends have held me up through heartbreak, rescued me when I could not move myself and shared laughs with me until our sides ached.  They have chosen to love and forgive when they could have chosen to anger and judge.  And it is by these choices that their hearts are revealed.   I gratefully offer unrelenting loyalty in response to the blessing of those kindred spirits as we share the trials of this life.

Though there are other blessings to be counted, these are the ones that matter the most.  These are the blessings that make standing on the precipice of my mid-thirties (watching my twenties fade into memory) joyfully sweet.  Which is why I am choosing to share this sweet Baked Maple Bacon French Toast in conjunction with a count of my blessings.  It is delicious and filling and seems to inspire a thankful heart.

Ingredients:

• 8 eggs
• 3 cups whole (2%) milk
• 1 tbs sugar
• 1 tbs brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 loaves french bread (1lb) cut into 1 inch slices

Topping:

• 8 slices thick cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces
• 2 tbs maple syrup

Putting It All Together:

1. Grease 13×9 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl whisk together eggs, milk, sugars, vanilla and cinnamon.
3. Dip each slice bread into egg mixture.
4. Layer bread in the baking dish, first a bottom layer and then a second layer.
5. Cover baking dish tightly and refrigerate over night.
6. Remove baking dish from fridge 30 minutes before baking and preheat oven to 350.
7. Meanwhile, combine topping ingredients in a small bowl, mixing well.
8. Spread topping over bread.
9. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes at 350.

Enjoy!

by
by